Trump Says Focus on Russian Hacking Is a ‘Political Witch Hunt’  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump said in an interview Friday morning that the storm surrounding Russian hacking during the presidential campaign is a political witch hunt being carried out by his adversaries …

Mattis clashing with Trump transition team over Pentagon staffing  —  The honeymoon seems to be ending between retired Gen. James N. Mattis and Donald Trump's transition team amid an increasingly acrimonious dispute over who will get top jobs in the Defense Department — and who gets to make those decisions.

Growing GOP Doubts Jeopardize Swift Obamacare Repeal in Senate  —  Four Republican senators express strong doubts about strategy  —  McConnell says GOP can act later in year to address gaps  —  A fourth Republican senator has voiced strong doubts about the party's current strategy …

The Latest: Arnold Schwarzenegger Responds to Trump Taunts  —  The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):  —  Arnold Schwarzenegger is responding to Donald Trump's taunting on Twitter.  The former California governor says the president-elect should work as hard to represent all Americans as he did for TV ratings.

In Break With Precedent, Obama Envoys Are Denied Extensions Past Inauguration Day  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump's transition staff has issued a blanket edict requiring politically appointed ambassadors to leave their overseas posts by Inauguration Day …

GOP lawmaker removes painting depicting police as pigs  —  A House Republican on Friday personally removed a controversial painting that depicts police officers as feral pigs in a hallway connecting to the Capitol.  —  Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) stripped the painting …

Warren announces she's running for re-election  —  WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren announced this morning that she is running for reelection in 2018, seeking a second term as US Senator from Massachusetts.  —  “I am running for re-election in Massachusetts in 2018,” she wrote in an email to her network of supporters.

The Age of Fake Policy  —  On Thursday, at a rough estimate, 75,000 Americans were laid off or fired by their employers.  Some of those workers will find good new jobs, but many will end up earning less, and some will remain unemployed for months or years.  —  If that sounds terrible to you …

President Obama Builds a Wall for Rental House (PHOTO GALLERY)  —  President Obama is taking a cue from Donald Trump ... he's building himself a wall.  —  We got photos of construction at Obama's soon-to-be D.C. rental.  You also see construction in the garage.  As we reported, it will become an office with a bathroom.

Clinton vs. de Blasio for New York Mayor?  Unlikely Idea Has People Talking  —  From political circles in New York City to cocktail parties on Capitol Hill, on right-of-center Facebook pages and among left-of-center donors, two of the biggest untethered threads in New York politics are being drawn together around a single question.

Bill Perry Is Terrified.  Why Aren't You?  —  At this naked moment in the American experiment, when many people perceive civilization on the verge of blowing up in some metaphorical sense, there is an elderly man in California hoping to seize your attention about another possibility.

Send in the Head Clowns  —  Democrats have been in power for so long that they've forgotten how to oppose.  Their party has been on a roll since 2005 when the botched Social Security reform, the slow bleed of the Iraq war, and Hurricane Katrina sent the Bush administration into a tailspin.

Eight Years of Labor Market Progress and the Employment Situation in December  —  Employment grew at a solid rate of 156,000 jobs in December as the longest streak of total job growth by far on record continued.  Average hourly earnings for private employees increased 2.9 percent in 2016 …